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Rusty-spotted Genet Recorded in Rwanda’s Rugezi Marsh Survey

Rusty-spotted genet walking at night in South Africa
Research · Ecology

A 2023 rapid mammal survey recorded one rusty-spotted genet (Genetta fieldiana) in Rugezi Marsh, a high-altitude Ramsar wetland in northern Rwanda. The animal was one of only two carnivores caught in four meat-baited cage traps; the other was a servaline genet (Genetta servalina).

The survey covered nine sites across 42 field days and combined active searches with live traps and camera traps. In total, the researchers recorded 28 non-flying mammal taxa: 17 identified to species, three tentatively assigned to species and eight identified only to genus.

Across the whole mammal community, records and species richness were generally highest in semiwet areas with tall grass, while the most saturated and driest habitats produced fewer records. The authors treat this as a preliminary community-level pattern rather than a tested habitat preference.

The single rusty-spotted genet capture confirms the species’ presence in the Rugezi landscape during the survey, but it cannot show population size, frequency of use or preferred habitat. The authors describe the study as an exploratory baseline and note that additional sampling would likely reveal more of the wetland’s mammal diversity.

Sources and image credit

  1. Majyambere, M., et al. (2026). Exploratory Insights on Nonvolant Mammals, Their Habitat Associations, and Taxonomic Relevance in Rugezi Marsh: A High-Altitude Tropical Montane Wetland in Rwanda.Primary open-access study. A 42-day rapid survey at nine sites in Rugezi Marsh recorded 28 nonvolant mammal taxa. Four meat-baited cage traps captured only two carnivores: one rusty-spotted genet (Genetta fieldiana) and one servaline genet. The authors describe habitat patterns as exploratory and note that sampling did not capture the marsh’s full mammal diversity.

Image: Bernard DUPONT — wild rusty-spotted genet in Tamboti Tented Camp, Kruger National Park, South Africa, 23 January 2019. Source: Wikimedia Commons / Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0. Commons uses the older scientific name Genetta maculata; the current valid name used by Wildlife Vagabond and the study is Genetta fieldiana. Representative species image; not the Rugezi individual. · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source

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